Turn 1 -
The turn opens and the first thing I notice is that Jean-Luc Betin (JLB) has made nearly 5000 moves. More than I expected. He appears to be going for a pincer strategy as the bulk of his airborne units land in the northern parts of the UK. Really, this is rather shocking. Both Kingston-Upon-Hull and Middlesborough have been overrun with regular infantry while a vast number of airborne units have created a huge circle around the US V Corps at Newcastle. I can only surmise that JLB's hope is that he is going to overstretch my outnumbered defenders in the early going and deliver a knock out blow.
JLB does a number of traditional landings in the south along the coast of England. He also drops some airmobile units in the southern suburbs of London. There is really nothing I can do to stop these moves as I have so few defenders to work with. Southeast UK will have to be sacrificed.
Looking over the map and JLB's initial deployments, I decide that my main line of defense will be along the general axis of Birmingham - Leeds - Lancaster - Edinburgh. The terrain here is heavily wooded and hilly, providing good defensive values for my units. This line also protects the ports of the Western UK like Blackpool, Liverpool, and Lancaster where reinforcements are set to arrive. Within a few weeks I should be in a good position to begin counterattacks against the Euro troops. This plan is just preliminary of course and depends on how well the invaders do in the initial days.
Now for my first moves. Half of the UK 3rd Mechanized Division is located in the southwest part of the country around Salisbury (the other half is positioned in the center of the UK). I move a lot of these units back into the White Horse Hills where they can guard the roads leading north into the industrial city of Birmingham and east via M4 into Bristol. This will just be a delaying action to allow my main line more time to coalesce. Eventually the 3rd will move back behind the Severn River to join the main line.
To the east is the great city of London and its small detachment of military units. Although there is no chance in the long run of keeping control of the city, I plan to give JLB a little bit of a fight for the place. There are several hexes of dense urban terrain within the city and these give a big advantage to the defender. I move infantry battalions to different sections of the city and start moving the two armored units northwest along highway M1.
At the Chunnel I have a few infantry units cutoff with no chance of escape. I attempt to attack the Belgium commandos guarding the place but see my units decimated by Euro air units. The Chunnel is now safely in the hands of the enemy.
A little to the north the UK 16th Air Assault Brigade finds itself in close combat with the German 7th Panzer Grenadier Brigade. I am outnumbered here and have little chance going up against German 21st century panzers. A retreat is in order and I start moving units toward the northwest, blowing bridges as I go. The terrain here is pretty flat so the only natural features that can slow down oncoming units are the rivers.
The center of the country is barren of troops except for the other half of the 3rd Mech. Div. I have to protect the key city of Manchester so I move several units into the "backbone of England", where there are plenty of hills to use for defensive purposes. The enemy forces at Kingston-Upon-Hull and Middleburgh will surely attempt to quickly move through here and take Manchester.
There is a big battle brewing in Southern Scotland between the US 1st Armored Division and the multitude of enemy airborne units that landed around Newcastle. The Coalition troops within Newcastle are hopelessly surrounded but I do attempt to fight my way out with a couple of British armored recon battalions. The 1st is taking up a strong position within the hills and mountains south of Edinburgh. The Scots have little to worry about.
Turn 2 -
The situation grows grimmer this turn as scores of additional Euro units arrive in the UK. I am getting concerned over the pace of the enemy advance and the holes that I currently have in my lines. I just need to buy some time.
In London I suffer a disappointment as two of my infantry battalions are retreated. I had thought they would hold out longer since they were not surrounded yet and the terrain was dense urban. I was luckily able to fix one of the battalions and dig it back into some dense urban on the edge of the city. Given the pace of operations and my complete lack of air support, I figure my two remaining infantry battalions will be destroyed on the next turn.
To the west things look a bit better as the large Belgium and French force around Salisbury is unable to advance very far. A few units I had left behind did a good job of slowing up the attacker. On the next turn the Euros should reach the White Horse Hills but I am very strong here.
My main defensive line is coming together, centered on the city of Birmingham. The UK 1st Armored Division is located here and this force is quite large. They will put up a fierce fight if and when JLB comes a calling.
The large German force around Kingston grows larger with additional reinforcements. It is able to spread out this turn and take York from units of mine that were beginning to come together. Leeds is also there for the taking if JLB wants to grab it within the next few turns. After that I may be able to find enough spare units to attempt to keep the place.
To the south and southwest of Manchester the 2nd Marine Division is moving into place. Although not known as mountain troops, the Marines will have to secure the Pennies. This area looks safe as not too many Euros are around at this point.
A more pressing problem is the gap between the UK 19th Mechanized Brigade and the US 1st Armored Division in Northern England. The gap is nearly 200 kilometers wide and centered along the axis Carlisle-Lancaster. I have the US 1st Infantry Division moving in as reinforcements but I don't know if they can setup in time. JLB has already reached Selkirk and I am not interested in trying to shift my 1st Arm. Div. units to the south. If JLB is aggressive he might try to sever the rail link between England and Scotland. I will have to begin a counterattack if he does this, as I really don't want to see my forces split in two.
Turn 3 -
As I began to suspect last turn, JLB's plans to divide the UK into two by driving toward Irish Sea coast in the northern part of England. His beachhead at Newcastle has really grown in size and is quickly advancing into the most vulnerable part of my line. I feel a big battle coming despite my wish to remain on the defensive for a while.
A number of Euro units are pushing toward the headwaters of the River Tyne and beyond. At the vanguard of the Euro force is a brigade of French paratroopers who are not too troubling. Behind that however are two German mechanized brigades. I have to counter this so I move the 3rd Brigade of the US 1st Arm. Div. into the valley east of Carlisle. I also rail much of the US 1st Inf. Div. to north of Carlisle, where they are forced to wait because a bridge is blown.
Despite the current gloomy situation, I wonder if JLB is trying to go for too much at one time. Once I get the 1st Inf. into place plus some additional units that on the way, a counterattack into Newcastle is a possibility. Most of his armor is located far to the south and appears to be heading west toward Manchester and Birmingham. I think I can hold him here while cutting off and destroying the Euros in the north. Of course only if I can survive the big problems coming in the next few days.
To the south of Newcastle are several German panzer and panzer grenadier battalions moving into Leeds. If they continue west, as I expect they will, they will then tangle with the 2nd Marine Div fortified in hills. I don't see much concern here. JLB probably should have sent at least one of these brigades to Newcastle to strengthen his guillotine force.
Otherwise there are no surprises this turn. Most the Euro troops in the south are headed for a showdown with the UK 1st Arm. Div. at Birmingham. I think I can hold here long enough for reinforcements to arrive from the US.
Turn 4 -
It looks like I am heading for a fierce fight with my French friend in the valley between Carlisle and Newcastle. He has managed to put some reconnaissance vehicles and infantry over a key mountain and is now looking down up River Eden valley. I manage to plug the gap with over 100 M1A2 tanks plus supporting equipment from the US 1st Inf. Div. Directly to the southeast I also have put some engineers into the mountains and they directly overlook the road running through the gap. This position is not that strong but I have over a dozen combat ready battalions moving up from Carlisle during the next couple of turns.
To the south JLB has moved the French 11th Parachute Brigade into a position southeast of Carlisle. I don't have much here but I do manage to plug this gap with yet another 100 plus M1A2 tanks. I also move in a couple of battalions from the 3rd UK Mech. Div. from the Manchester area to help out.
The Germans have easily overrun Leeds and are now moving directly west into a wall of USMC infantry battalions. Otherwise the rest of the map is still fairly quiet. My defenses pivoted on Birmingham are very strong and the Euros will likely struggle to break it. Also I have brought in all my fresh fighter groups and put them on air superiority. This is should at least get me some decent air cover in the northern half of the map where the big fight is about to begin.
Turn 5 -
The battle for Northern England begins in earnest today. I have decided to throw everything I have up here against JLB's undersupplied and overstretched light forces. He also lacks much armor in this area so he has little hope of holding of all my M1A2s for very long. The goal over the next five turns is to surround and completely destroy these enemy formations. If successful, I will liberate Newcastle and begin shifting south to get in the rear of the German panzer units operating in Central England.
The US 1st Arm. Div. spent the last four days along a ridge of mountains guarding Edinburgh from attack. Now with the change of initiative I swing them down into the River Tweed valley, perpendicular to their previous position. Here they find only airborne units guarding the Euro line all the way to the North Sea. Despite the lack of armor facing me, my attacks are easily thrown back. This is a perfect example of what happens when your opponent has adequate artillery and air support and you don't: a much weaker force can easily maul a more powerful one. On the next turn I should have some artillery in position where it can provide tactical support and this should assist me in winning the river crossings.
Just to the southwest, the US 1st Inf. Div. has moved up and attempts to counterattack the Germans holding the road. They hold out but the important thing is that the drive to Carlisle has been stopped. It is up to my other units to attack the Euros flanks and achieve the victory.
The Euro's left flank is held by some French paratroopers and here I am not quite yet prepared to counterattack. Elements of several formations on moving toward the area, with the British 19th Brigade attacking the far end of the line. I do manage a couple of attacks with Queen's Lancers, but I lose half of my Challengers IIs without forcing the paratroopers back.
Given this is 21st century warfare, my moves described so far are not yet complete. Under the cover of about 100 F-16 Falcons, I drop behind the enemy lines four battalions of the UK 52nd Infantry Brigade and a lone battalion from the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. Enemy fighters down many of my helicopters, but I manage to land the bulk of the units intact. This move has cut off the supply of most of the enemy units and I may be able to hold here if JLB tries to counterattack.
The only other interesting event of the turn is down towards Manchester where JLB has thrown a several German panzer and panzer grenadier battalions into the Marines here. I am somewhat concerned by my lack of armor here right now but am not going to panic. An armored regiment near Liverpool is set to activate on turn 7 and they can come to the rescue if need be.
JLB attacks in a couple of places and manages to defeat the 6th Marines Regiment - 2nd Battalion, putting a small dent in my previously flat line. However he also makes a bad mistake at the same time with this penetration. All three of his attacking units move into the hex after the battle, cutting these units off from supply on the next turn. He should have used limited attack with at least one of his units so that there would have been a supply route open on the next turn. Now those three units will probably all be red and facing bright green Marines.
The turn opens and the first thing I notice is that Jean-Luc Betin (JLB) has made nearly 5000 moves. More than I expected. He appears to be going for a pincer strategy as the bulk of his airborne units land in the northern parts of the UK. Really, this is rather shocking. Both Kingston-Upon-Hull and Middlesborough have been overrun with regular infantry while a vast number of airborne units have created a huge circle around the US V Corps at Newcastle. I can only surmise that JLB's hope is that he is going to overstretch my outnumbered defenders in the early going and deliver a knock out blow.
JLB does a number of traditional landings in the south along the coast of England. He also drops some airmobile units in the southern suburbs of London. There is really nothing I can do to stop these moves as I have so few defenders to work with. Southeast UK will have to be sacrificed.
Looking over the map and JLB's initial deployments, I decide that my main line of defense will be along the general axis of Birmingham - Leeds - Lancaster - Edinburgh. The terrain here is heavily wooded and hilly, providing good defensive values for my units. This line also protects the ports of the Western UK like Blackpool, Liverpool, and Lancaster where reinforcements are set to arrive. Within a few weeks I should be in a good position to begin counterattacks against the Euro troops. This plan is just preliminary of course and depends on how well the invaders do in the initial days.
Now for my first moves. Half of the UK 3rd Mechanized Division is located in the southwest part of the country around Salisbury (the other half is positioned in the center of the UK). I move a lot of these units back into the White Horse Hills where they can guard the roads leading north into the industrial city of Birmingham and east via M4 into Bristol. This will just be a delaying action to allow my main line more time to coalesce. Eventually the 3rd will move back behind the Severn River to join the main line.
To the east is the great city of London and its small detachment of military units. Although there is no chance in the long run of keeping control of the city, I plan to give JLB a little bit of a fight for the place. There are several hexes of dense urban terrain within the city and these give a big advantage to the defender. I move infantry battalions to different sections of the city and start moving the two armored units northwest along highway M1.
At the Chunnel I have a few infantry units cutoff with no chance of escape. I attempt to attack the Belgium commandos guarding the place but see my units decimated by Euro air units. The Chunnel is now safely in the hands of the enemy.
A little to the north the UK 16th Air Assault Brigade finds itself in close combat with the German 7th Panzer Grenadier Brigade. I am outnumbered here and have little chance going up against German 21st century panzers. A retreat is in order and I start moving units toward the northwest, blowing bridges as I go. The terrain here is pretty flat so the only natural features that can slow down oncoming units are the rivers.
The center of the country is barren of troops except for the other half of the 3rd Mech. Div. I have to protect the key city of Manchester so I move several units into the "backbone of England", where there are plenty of hills to use for defensive purposes. The enemy forces at Kingston-Upon-Hull and Middleburgh will surely attempt to quickly move through here and take Manchester.
There is a big battle brewing in Southern Scotland between the US 1st Armored Division and the multitude of enemy airborne units that landed around Newcastle. The Coalition troops within Newcastle are hopelessly surrounded but I do attempt to fight my way out with a couple of British armored recon battalions. The 1st is taking up a strong position within the hills and mountains south of Edinburgh. The Scots have little to worry about.
Turn 2 -
The situation grows grimmer this turn as scores of additional Euro units arrive in the UK. I am getting concerned over the pace of the enemy advance and the holes that I currently have in my lines. I just need to buy some time.
In London I suffer a disappointment as two of my infantry battalions are retreated. I had thought they would hold out longer since they were not surrounded yet and the terrain was dense urban. I was luckily able to fix one of the battalions and dig it back into some dense urban on the edge of the city. Given the pace of operations and my complete lack of air support, I figure my two remaining infantry battalions will be destroyed on the next turn.
To the west things look a bit better as the large Belgium and French force around Salisbury is unable to advance very far. A few units I had left behind did a good job of slowing up the attacker. On the next turn the Euros should reach the White Horse Hills but I am very strong here.
My main defensive line is coming together, centered on the city of Birmingham. The UK 1st Armored Division is located here and this force is quite large. They will put up a fierce fight if and when JLB comes a calling.
The large German force around Kingston grows larger with additional reinforcements. It is able to spread out this turn and take York from units of mine that were beginning to come together. Leeds is also there for the taking if JLB wants to grab it within the next few turns. After that I may be able to find enough spare units to attempt to keep the place.
To the south and southwest of Manchester the 2nd Marine Division is moving into place. Although not known as mountain troops, the Marines will have to secure the Pennies. This area looks safe as not too many Euros are around at this point.
A more pressing problem is the gap between the UK 19th Mechanized Brigade and the US 1st Armored Division in Northern England. The gap is nearly 200 kilometers wide and centered along the axis Carlisle-Lancaster. I have the US 1st Infantry Division moving in as reinforcements but I don't know if they can setup in time. JLB has already reached Selkirk and I am not interested in trying to shift my 1st Arm. Div. units to the south. If JLB is aggressive he might try to sever the rail link between England and Scotland. I will have to begin a counterattack if he does this, as I really don't want to see my forces split in two.
Turn 3 -
As I began to suspect last turn, JLB's plans to divide the UK into two by driving toward Irish Sea coast in the northern part of England. His beachhead at Newcastle has really grown in size and is quickly advancing into the most vulnerable part of my line. I feel a big battle coming despite my wish to remain on the defensive for a while.
A number of Euro units are pushing toward the headwaters of the River Tyne and beyond. At the vanguard of the Euro force is a brigade of French paratroopers who are not too troubling. Behind that however are two German mechanized brigades. I have to counter this so I move the 3rd Brigade of the US 1st Arm. Div. into the valley east of Carlisle. I also rail much of the US 1st Inf. Div. to north of Carlisle, where they are forced to wait because a bridge is blown.
Despite the current gloomy situation, I wonder if JLB is trying to go for too much at one time. Once I get the 1st Inf. into place plus some additional units that on the way, a counterattack into Newcastle is a possibility. Most of his armor is located far to the south and appears to be heading west toward Manchester and Birmingham. I think I can hold him here while cutting off and destroying the Euros in the north. Of course only if I can survive the big problems coming in the next few days.
To the south of Newcastle are several German panzer and panzer grenadier battalions moving into Leeds. If they continue west, as I expect they will, they will then tangle with the 2nd Marine Div fortified in hills. I don't see much concern here. JLB probably should have sent at least one of these brigades to Newcastle to strengthen his guillotine force.
Otherwise there are no surprises this turn. Most the Euro troops in the south are headed for a showdown with the UK 1st Arm. Div. at Birmingham. I think I can hold here long enough for reinforcements to arrive from the US.
Turn 4 -
It looks like I am heading for a fierce fight with my French friend in the valley between Carlisle and Newcastle. He has managed to put some reconnaissance vehicles and infantry over a key mountain and is now looking down up River Eden valley. I manage to plug the gap with over 100 M1A2 tanks plus supporting equipment from the US 1st Inf. Div. Directly to the southeast I also have put some engineers into the mountains and they directly overlook the road running through the gap. This position is not that strong but I have over a dozen combat ready battalions moving up from Carlisle during the next couple of turns.
To the south JLB has moved the French 11th Parachute Brigade into a position southeast of Carlisle. I don't have much here but I do manage to plug this gap with yet another 100 plus M1A2 tanks. I also move in a couple of battalions from the 3rd UK Mech. Div. from the Manchester area to help out.
The Germans have easily overrun Leeds and are now moving directly west into a wall of USMC infantry battalions. Otherwise the rest of the map is still fairly quiet. My defenses pivoted on Birmingham are very strong and the Euros will likely struggle to break it. Also I have brought in all my fresh fighter groups and put them on air superiority. This is should at least get me some decent air cover in the northern half of the map where the big fight is about to begin.
Turn 5 -
The battle for Northern England begins in earnest today. I have decided to throw everything I have up here against JLB's undersupplied and overstretched light forces. He also lacks much armor in this area so he has little hope of holding of all my M1A2s for very long. The goal over the next five turns is to surround and completely destroy these enemy formations. If successful, I will liberate Newcastle and begin shifting south to get in the rear of the German panzer units operating in Central England.
The US 1st Arm. Div. spent the last four days along a ridge of mountains guarding Edinburgh from attack. Now with the change of initiative I swing them down into the River Tweed valley, perpendicular to their previous position. Here they find only airborne units guarding the Euro line all the way to the North Sea. Despite the lack of armor facing me, my attacks are easily thrown back. This is a perfect example of what happens when your opponent has adequate artillery and air support and you don't: a much weaker force can easily maul a more powerful one. On the next turn I should have some artillery in position where it can provide tactical support and this should assist me in winning the river crossings.
Just to the southwest, the US 1st Inf. Div. has moved up and attempts to counterattack the Germans holding the road. They hold out but the important thing is that the drive to Carlisle has been stopped. It is up to my other units to attack the Euros flanks and achieve the victory.
The Euro's left flank is held by some French paratroopers and here I am not quite yet prepared to counterattack. Elements of several formations on moving toward the area, with the British 19th Brigade attacking the far end of the line. I do manage a couple of attacks with Queen's Lancers, but I lose half of my Challengers IIs without forcing the paratroopers back.
Given this is 21st century warfare, my moves described so far are not yet complete. Under the cover of about 100 F-16 Falcons, I drop behind the enemy lines four battalions of the UK 52nd Infantry Brigade and a lone battalion from the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. Enemy fighters down many of my helicopters, but I manage to land the bulk of the units intact. This move has cut off the supply of most of the enemy units and I may be able to hold here if JLB tries to counterattack.
The only other interesting event of the turn is down towards Manchester where JLB has thrown a several German panzer and panzer grenadier battalions into the Marines here. I am somewhat concerned by my lack of armor here right now but am not going to panic. An armored regiment near Liverpool is set to activate on turn 7 and they can come to the rescue if need be.
JLB attacks in a couple of places and manages to defeat the 6th Marines Regiment - 2nd Battalion, putting a small dent in my previously flat line. However he also makes a bad mistake at the same time with this penetration. All three of his attacking units move into the hex after the battle, cutting these units off from supply on the next turn. He should have used limited attack with at least one of his units so that there would have been a supply route open on the next turn. Now those three units will probably all be red and facing bright green Marines.
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